This drawing is used with the permission of Bliss-Buter Thompson, 6th great-granddaughter of John Martin.

William Preston Bynum, a great-grandson of John Martin, had commissioned a tombstone to be erected in John's memory.  The tombstone states that Lt. John Martin was born in Essex County, Virginia in 1756 and died at the Rock House on April 5,1822. The tombstone also states: "Soldier, Officer and Patriot of the Revolution, Who Volunteered to Fight for the Independence of His Country.  Member of the House of Commons and for many years Presiding Judge of the County Court of Stokes County.

We know that the 1822 death date is correct because John's will was written in May of 1821 and probate was started on June 12, 1822.  The Bible record used by Nancy Martin in her 1840 pension application request based on John's military service was probably dated closer to the time of the application and was mis-dated stating 1823.  Proof of the 1822 death date is provided by the following images.

John Martin Cloud, a grandson of John Martin, wrote in a letter to Lyman C. Draper on December 22, 1880, that John Martin went by the name of Jack, not John.   

I am creating this website in order to present to other researchers the documents and records I have accumulated in researching this Martin Family's history over a period of 20 years.

John Martin and Nancy Shipp were married in June of 1784.  This information came from Nancy's pension application.  No courthouse marriage records have been found.  John and Nancy had a total of 10 children:  7 boys and 3 girls.  All of the children except one girl, Virginia or Ginny, lived past childhood. 

Y-Chromosome DNA testing is a valuable genealogical tool.  The Family Tree DNA company website for the Martin Family Surname Project is:  http://www.familytreedna.com/public/martin/default.aspx?section=yresults  You will find the John "Jack" Martin Family under Group 13 on the page.  According to this chart this family shares a J-M172 Haplogroup while most of the other Martins on the page show an R- Haplogroup.

I am appealing to all Martin males with strong family history lines back to John “Jack” Martin 1756-1822 Stokes County, North Carolina or with a strong history back to the John Martin (d. about 1740/1741) who was married to Mary Samuel from Essex County, Virginia to please have their Y-DNA tested for 37 markers and to share that information with other Martin researchers. There are interested researchers who would be willing to help defray the cost of the Y-DNA 37 test to the first responder from the above John Martin d. 1741/Mary Samuel line. For further information   

The following website is a great overview about Y-Chromosome DNA testing for genealogical purposes:  http://www.johnbrobb.com/JBRdna.htm

Copyright, June 2023